Power Slap
Power Slap’s Ryan Phillips grew up doing Taekwondo and would later dabble in boxing, but he feels he’s found his calling in the new Power Slap league.
Last week, Phillips was featured on the TBS show Power Slap: Road To The Title, where he went toe-to-toe with the “One-Eyed Wolf” Rob Perez in a match that featured plenty of back-and-forth trash talk. The clip of their match has generated over 47 million views on TikTok alone.
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Despite losing, Phillips believes his match against the ‘One-Eyed Wolf” showcased the entertainment potential of Power Slap.
“We definitely put our heart and soul in that match. We wanted to make the most entertaining match for the fans and the people viewing in the actual apex themselves.
“So, yeah, I would believe that’s a blueprint to what a great slap fight match should be. Dana White himself said it was a legendary match, and it was going down in the Power Slap history books. So everyone should definitely stay tuned and definitely take some notes.”
Phillips was eventually let into the Power Slap house after Perez wasn’t cleared for competition by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Despite living with 20 different alpha dogs like himself, Phillips felt right at home.
“It’s like coming into my natural habitat. All the guys, we’re all the same, but we’re all unique, too. We got that crazy mindset where we can do stuff like this. We could do a slap play and step up to the table without fear. But it was great at the same time,and hard at the same time We didn’t have our cell phones. We had no connection to the outside world.
“And the only time we ever left the house was to go train or put in some work in some type of capacity. And overall, the experience was a once in a lifetime. It sucked at times. It was great at times, and it was really great at times. But anyone who told you that they had a fantastic time the whole way through his lying to you.”
After living with the guys for about a month, Phillips named “Slap Jesus” Michael Smith and MMA veteran Carresse Archer as the wildest dudes in the Power Slap house.
“As far as attitude, personality is concerned, that guy (Slap Jesus) is absolutely at the top. There’s a couple of guys. This might seem to be a surprise, but Carrese Archer is a wild man. He is a dog. That guy does not take shit from nobody and will scrap at any moment’s notice. So even he in his own right is crazy too. And I love that. I love that dog and that guy, he’s a great dude, but pure craziness and insanity. Slap Jesus all the way.”
Throughout the week, the fighters regularly trained at the UFC Performance Institute, where they would regularly bump into UFC fighters. According to Phillips, he believes the UFC’s Derrick Lewis would thrive in Power Slap after seeing him in person.
“Well, I just met him yesterday for a short time, but Derrick Lewis, the Black Beast, he was with me. His balls weren’t hot. Thankfully, his pants were on this time, but I think Derrick Lewis would be a phenomenal catch in the power slap league. That guy is a powerhouse.”
As for his future in Power Slap, Philips wants to be a competitor/analyst like Dominick Cruz of the UFC.
“When I started, I didn’t take it as seriously as I am now, that’s for sure. My career path with Power Slap, I definitely want to fulfill my contract. I want to put in the most exciting fights I can. I would like to be in an analyst commentary role, but also a participant. So kind of like a hybrid like Dominick Cruz was. That would be really awesome.”
(This interview has been edited for length and clarity)